Just days after pop star Justin Timberlake was arrested in the Hamptons and charged with driving while intoxicated, he performed a show in Chicago, his first public appearance since the arrest. Addressing the crowd of nearly 20,000, Timberlake acknowledged the recent events.
“It’s been a tough week,” he admitted, prompting an enthusiastic cheer from the audience. “But you’re here, and I’m here, and nothing can change this moment right now.”
Timberlake concluded his brief speech with: “I know sometimes I’m hard to love, but you keep on loving me and I’m loving you right back.” He then launched into his song “Selfish,” encouraging the crowd to sing along.
The Memphis-born musician is scheduled to perform another show at The United Center in Chicago on Saturday night, before heading to New York City to perform at Madison Square Garden next weekend.
The 10-time Grammy winner was arrested for driving while intoxicated in a village in the Hamptons, New York, after police reported that he ran a stop sign and veered out of his lane. At around 12:30 a.m., an officer pulled him over and determined that he was intoxicated, according to the Associated Press.
“His eyes were bloodshot and glassy, a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage was emanating from his breath, he was unable to divide attention, he had slowed speech, he was unsteady afoot and he performed poorly on all standardized field sobriety tests,” the court documents stated, per the AP.
He was charged with a DWI misdemeanor, and his next court date has been set for July 26, the Suffolk County district attorney’s office said.
On Wednesday, the office of Timberlake’s lawyer Edward Burke Jr. was quoted as saying: “Mr Burke looks forward to vigorously defending Mr. Timberlake against these allegations. He will have a lot to say at the appropriate time. He is currently awaiting full discovery from the DA’s office.”
In March, Timberlake—who has been married to actor Jessica Biel since 2012—released his first new album in six years, the nostalgic Everything I Thought It Was. The father of two began touring for the album on April 29, 2024, in Vancouver, Canada, calling it the “The Forget Tomorrow World Tour.” The tour comprises more than 85 shows in at least 55 cities. The tour is scheduled to end on Dec. 20, 2024, in Kansas City, Missouri.
Timberlake’s court date in July coincides with a show in Krakow, Poland, during the international leg of the tour.
The singer also made headlines last year following his ex-girlfriend Britney Spears’ release of The Woman in Me. The two stars were together from 1999 to 2002 at the height of their fame. Spears’ memoir brought their notoriously messy and toxic breakup back into the spotlight, as she claimed that Timberlake broke up with her over text, and that they were both unfaithful during the relationship.